The Backstory
by eskalations
Summary: There was a reason Eugene didn't want to talk about his past. It was over and done with. Why go back? The reason a certain Flynn Rider turned down Rapunzel's request of a backstory. Terrible Summary! Rated T for stealing and violence, nothing else.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: So this idea randomly popped into my head and I think I may even have a storyline to go with it! So Im pretty happy about that, so yeah! This is basically a story of Eugene's life in the orphanage, please review and give your opinions on this story.  
And after you read this one maybe go read some of my other "Tangled" fics? Please? This is kinda sad, but don't worry we all know how it ends! And I may also be putting some incerpts from Eugene's present life in here so just keep on checking back!

Oh and I just watched the movie "Fireproof" Ahhh so inspirational!

Disclaimer: I don't own Tangled...or little orphan Eugene...they belong to Disney.

A little boy sat on the back steps of an old run down wooden house, the sky above was a deep shade of purple, not yet dawn yet it wasn't nighttime anymore.

A sign fluttered that read "Corona Orphanage" it was tattered and weathered just as the building behind it was.

Eugene Fitzherbert's hair rustled slightly as the cool morning air blew through the strands, drying away the young boys tears almost instantly, but not wavering the sadness in his hazel eyes.

Sighing in frustration the 8 year old stood up and punched his tanned fist into the wooden support causing the porch to give out a loud creak. He smiled that he atleast could make something fearful in his wake.

"Eugene?" A voice demanded menacingly behind him causing him to jump about 2 feet in the air clutching his white sleeping shirt,  
desperatly trying to slow down his heart rate.

Turning around he saw the one person he feared more then any of the older boys who seemed to enjoy torturing him.

The women, Mrs. Gilbert was standing tall with pale fingers curled behind her back, jaw tense. Her dark dress and jet black hair made the glow of her skin even more prominent despite the many wrinkles she had developed running an orphanage, at only 34 years of age she looked about 44.

She started over to the small boy who was now awaiting a punishment of some sort, maybe a spank, maybe a slap, it seemed to change everyday. Eugene's face sank as his heart dropped at every pounding of her shoes on the given out wood, each step he prepared himself for sudden pain but it didn't come.

"Go start getting ready...now," That was enough to get Eugene running through the curtains that covered the doorway of the building and sprinting for the stairs, never had he been given the oppurtunity to walk away from a punishment, this was strange but he was not going to take advantage of it.

The sun was now peeking over the horizon little strands of gold escaping above the tops of the dark trees, and casting shadows around the room. Running past the small dining area and very small play room, he reached the stairs. Not wasting any time he ran as fast as his little legs could carry him to his room, not wanting to suddenly change her mind.

Closing the door he heaved a sigh of relief and looked around at his very familiar bedroom, well not only his it was the other children's too, all the boys atleast. Scattered around the room were very poor escuses for bunk beds, sheets tattered and some sleeping without sheets. Snors were escaping the mouths of almost all of them who didn't have their heads stuffed in their pillow.

Quietly Eugene made his way over to the closet that was next to his door and grabbed a plain pair of brown pants and a white shirt to go with it, his boots were over by his bunk so he went over and put those on his feet trying to do so quietly as to not wake the older kids, the one's who would just love an excuse to throw him out a window.

Threading his fingers through his hair, he layed down on his lumpy bunk and looked up at the one above his, trying to find a way to pass the time.

He should have never gone outside, Eugene decided thinking about what had even possessed him to do that, then he remembered.  
The night before the older boys had ganged up on him and had started to shove Eugene hard, the boy fell to the floor and they all began throwing punches, only causing minor bruising but still that wasn't what frusterated him. It was the fact he couldn't fight back.

Eugene was scrawny, he had never been fed well, and was only a little above 5 feet. All those kids had towered above him and even though they too were skinny, they were also stronger.

Sighing he fluffed his pillow and turned to his side, maybe he could sleep a little while longer.

The day started out like normal, everyone came down to breakfast,  
and today was a special treat, everyone got to eat toast with butter. Something like that was a rarity at the orphanage.

After that everyone seemed to migrate outside to play on the front lawn. The orphanage was about a 5 minute walk from town, concealed by trees, but ofcourse all of them had been brave enough to wonder off now and then to see the beauitul city of Corona.

"Eugene!" Startled the boy looked up from his arms, where purple bruises had already formed to see two almost identical little girls running up to him.

Both were about 4, their little brown dresses were tattered and riped but the smiles on their cherubic faces made them look absolutly angelic.

One had red curls that went down to her shoulder and hazel eyes just like Eugene's, while the other had brown hair that went all the way to her waist and green eyes, despite their differences the face shape, their height, and just about everything else was identical.

The little red-head, Natalie smiled at her brother, "We scared you!"  
She was giggling by the time she reached his place under the oak tree. Elizabeth, the brunette came up behind her laughing along with her sister.

Eugene just rolled his eyes at his little sisters childness, he loved them but they just got so overly excited about everything!

"Yeah...you two totally caught me off guard...I though I may have a heartattack!" He clutched his heart dramatically making Elizabeth's wide green eyes grow big, "Sorry Beth not really!" He quickly said not wanting to upset his little sister. She nodded understanding then and went to sit on his opposite side.

Eugene had been 5 when they had been dropped off at the orphanage, the girls were newborns. Their parent's were shady people and he remembered on many accounts them pushing him around until he just decided not to deal with it, he never would talk or eat or anything, I guess they had assumed he was hopeless along with his little sisters and not wanting extra baggage they just dropped them off at this dump without a second glance.

He was glad that Elizabeth and Natalie didn't remember their parents, they hadn't been pleasant. His mom had wide green innocent looking eyes, and red curly hair but had the temper that matched. His father, well he looked just like him, brown hair and hazel eyes, the same nose and mouth that Eugene and Elizabeth both shared but he was a despicable human being. On several occassions his father would stumble home drunk and hit anything that got in his way, including Eugene.

"Brother? Where did you get that?" Natalie asked curiously, red curls bouncing as she leaned over and grabbed the arm he had been trying so desperately to hide, sighing he just shook it out of her pale little hands.

"Just fell off the porch," Eugene said nonchalantly putting his arms behind his head as the little girls scooted closer to their big brother, both referred to him as that too, he wouldn't be surprised if they didn't even know his real name.

"No you didn't" Beth whispered lightly in his ear snuggling up to his side as the warm summer breeze continued to blow the little brown brown hairs atop her head. Eugene just shook his head, she was always very attentive and smart, he worried that he would never be able to tell a lie to those wide and innocent green eyes of hers.

" says that we have an int-inte-inter...anyway we are being shown to a couple in two days, she's letting us go to town and pick up pretty dresses!" Natalie's hazel eyes looked up at Eugene with so much excitement that he didn't have the heart to tell her he was not apart of the interview.

Older kids rarely got asked for an interview, no one wanted an almost grown child. When you got told you were being shown to a couple, you took the full advantage of it. You got dressed up in your "interview" clothes and fixed your hair and made sure everything was in place. Eugene had been interviewed once, and the couple had stared at him for about 30 seconds before just standing up and walking from the room, leaving the little boy with a sad look replacing the once hopeful one.

"We get to pick them out today!" Elizabeth said quietly but exuberently as she looked up at her brother. Beth was much more dependent than Nat, she was very quiet and thoughtful while Nat was just a big ball of energy.

"You will come with us right?" Nat asked excitedly grabbing Eugene's arm causing him to wince as she touched the exact spot he had been bruised.

Right on cue, walked from the house slamming the door behind her, those shoes clanking against the wood was becoming a familiar sound to Eugene and he winced everytime she stepped. Playing ceased and all the kids became silent as the caretaker made her way right over to where the little girls and their big brother sat.

"Girls, were going to the village...and Eugene..." said in her deep intimadating voice instantly scaring the boy more then he would ever admit. "Your coming with us."

She was probably gonna kick him in front of cart and hope to see him get ran over.

"Yes ma'am" He answered quietly as he grabbed little Beth's hand which was quivering in his, giving a reassuring squeeze as Natalie began to skip up the path that led to the town.

"Natalie!" snapped walking up the path in front of them, promptly the little red-head stopped skipping and hung her head trudging down the dirt path.

All the joy gone from her hazel eyes.

"Ohhh how nice to see you!" A middle aged male clerk exclaimed cheerily as we walked up to his small store, the clothing store. The last time Eugene was here it was to buy his interview clothes,  
and that had been 2 years ago.

"Why Stanley you truly are a dear!" raised her voice cheerfully and smiled widely at the man. Eugene could see she was faking it by the way her mouth slightly twitched and her eyes held little light at all.

The caretaker was always nice to the store clerks, who usually on a good day would give her a discount on all her purchases even the ones that were more for herself then anyone else.

"Well these must be the two little girls who have an interview tomorrow!" The man stooped down to the little girls level and gave them a smile.

Natalie grinned back, happy again for to her this was a big occasion.  
Elizabeth grabbed Eugene's hand a little tighter and smiled shyly at the friendly clerk.

Soon the girls were taken back to get fitted by his wife and we all stood up front waiting for them to get done.

"I believe Eugene is hungry and I musn't let the poor child go hungry!  
We will be back for the girls in a few minutes!" The boy had been looking at the different fabrics that hung from the racks when suddenly he was jerked out of the room and into the town by .

She dragged him down the road a good ways, people passing payed no mind to them as they passed store after store.

"Listen to me Eugene..." spat out menacingly as she pulled them into a dark alley right beside a food stand where a plump old man stood selling various breads, they smelt so good to the hungry little boy.

"You are going to try something for me ok? And if you fail don't expect me to get you out of any consequence..." She was now kneeling at his level, her beady eyes practically piercing his. A lump formed in his throat but Eugene solemnly nodded.

"Go get me some bread...this is a test to see if your going to be able to handle anymore jobs," What was she asking him? A test?  
What kind?

Then it hit him, stealing. She wanted him to steal.

Before he could protest she cut him off, grabbing his white shirt in her hand and leaning in close "Listen if you don't do this for me I can make sure those two brats you call sisters don't get adopted tomorrow...and trust me when I say that this couple is loaded and both of them would be happier with them, I could ruin that so easily."

Eugene mouth went agape but he quickly closed it as he thought of what she was asking him. Steal? It would only be bread right?

Wait. She said she was trying to see if he could handle big jobs. That meant more stealing right?

Not wanting to go through with it, but then picturing Elizabeth and Natalie's smiling faces in his head, he gave a huge sigh and nodded at the dark haired lady in front of him.

"Yes ma'am" with that she kicked him slightly, Eugene stumbling onto the dirt road, the sunshine engulfing him.

He knew why she had picked him for this, he was fast and smaller then the other guys and even though he was just an orphan he was pretty smart.

Walking over to the stand he noticed the man was talking to a women with curly blonde hair, they appeared to be flirting and so Eugene knew this would be an easy steal.

Standing nonchalantly he hesitantly grabbed for a piece of bread on the side of the cart. Getting a hold of the warm dough he quickened his pace and walked back to the shadows where had a greedy look on her face.

"Perfect" She smiled evily as she took the bread in her hands breaking a very small piece off and handing it to Eugene, then eating the rest of it.

The boy had to smile, he could actually do something right. But something told him that it was wrong to feel this way after taking something from someone.

But for a boy who had nothing, could anyone blame him?

A/N#2: Thoughts? 


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Here's the second chapter! Please review and give me any suggestions or share your concerns or just tell me what you think!

Disclaimer: I don't own "Tangled" or it's characters, they belong to Disney.

The next day was crazy, his sisters attended their "interview"  
and thankfully they did get choosen by a couple who were very well off.

Eugene couldn't help but feel terrible though, he was glad his sisters were gonna get a better life then he ever would but he just didn't want to let them go.

Natalie and Elizabeth were all he had left as a family, everyone else had abandoned him. Were they about to do the same?

He had two days to say his goodbyes before he wouldn't probably ever see the two girls that he held so dear to his heart ever again.

Natalie was absolutly estatic that she was getting a new mommy,  
apparently the woman had been very nice, but she did also share concerns about her future "mother's" husband.

"He just sat there barely talking and staring at us, it was kinda weird but I mean he might have just been nervous," Eugene was helping the two little girls pack their things so that moving would be easier for them. Natalie was bouncing around grabbing what little she had and stuffing it into the bag that her brother was holding open. Elizabeth sat clutching her teddy bear on the bottom bunk,  
green eyes downcast and tears brimming the edges pouring over her eyelashes.

"Beth what's wrong?" Natalie asked her sister sitting down next to her and putting a comforting arm around the brunette. Eugene came over and sat on her other side also putting his lanky arm around her shoulder.

"Eugene you aren't coming with us are you?" Elizabeth's voice sounded small and shaky, suddenly Natalie realized that her brother hadn't packed his own stuff.

"Eugene?" Natalie looked up her hazel eyes now filling with tears as the boy put his head down and looked at his shoes holding the girl closer to him. Nat crawled over and sat on his lap hugging him while Beth just cried into his side.

He wanted to be strong, but couldn't bring himself to stop the tears.

"Their gone..." Eugene whispered to himself sitting on the back steps of the porch of the orphanage. The couple had come and taken the twins today, their brother couldn't even watch as the carriage jorneyed down the dirt road to the girls new home.

He tried to tell himself they would be happier in a better enviroment,  
with good parents but Eugene decided just to be selfish for the moment and wish he could see Natalie skipping through the yard with Elizabeth tentively following closely behind.

He would never have the chance of a better life, all he would ever know is the orphanage.

This thought made him madder then anything.

Acting on an impulse the boy walked over to the curtain and quietly trudged up the stairs not caring if he got caught anymore, just knowing he had to get out of here.

Throwing random articles of clothing in a laundry bag, Eugene looked at the faces around the room, all sleeping peacefully yet he couldn't help the scowl that reached his face. He was going to get something better then this.

That night Eugene left the orphanage behind, and refused to ever look back.

The forest floor was damp from the rain the night before, huge trees casted strange shadows along the path that the little runaway was following, he tripped and stumbled but his pace never wavered,  
he had to get far enough away from the place that had stolen all the joy from him.

The only thing he could hear was the sounds of his footfalls on the ground and the squish of the mud as his foot slid in puddle after puddle.

What had he been thinking? He was only 8 years old! What was he going to do for a living? No one would give him a job! With every step he realized the mistake he had made, yet he couldn't bring himself to turn around, it just wasn't an option, it never would be.

He could steal.

Ever since that first day, he had gone into town with and surprisingly he had a natural ability to snatch things quickly. Stealth always had been a talent of his, was he gonna get to put it to use?

But still that felt wrong, but what other choice did he have? Starve to death? Live the rest of his life wondering around looking for a job when really he would just be lousy at it?

Eugene ran a hand through his thick brown hair feeling extremely weary but still trudging forward, when suddenly he heard the rustling of leaves.

Panicing he ran through nearly all the possibilities of what it could be. A wild animal? No, it sounded to human. ? Uhmmm...  
possibly but he would rather run face to face with the palace guards then that woman right now.

Standing frozen in his spot a woman with dark curly hair and red dress stepped through the leaves looking as if she was in a hurry yet very tired, the wrinkles under her eyes were evident and the bundle she held close to her was drooping a bit.

The woman didn't notice the quivering boy in front of her and quickly stepped through another bit of branches. But not before Eugene got a look at what the bundle was.

A baby. She had beautiful blonde hair that looked too long to be on such a tiny child, her hands were curled into small fist, cheeks were a rosy pink and mouth set in a "o". What caught the boy's eye though was the emerald orbs staring right back at him, all of a sudden something clicked. The baby looked back at him curiously in those very few seconds, and Eugene was sure his face probably matched hers.

As soon as they appeared the woman and child disappeared into the darkness of the night, nothing left behind to even prove they had even been there.

It wasn't until the next day that Eugene learned from over listening through a window of a pub that the princess of Corona had been kidnapped the very night before, she had beautiful blonde hair. And most importantly big green eyes.

He had seen the princess, and he now knew that no matter what happened, somehow, he would be the one to find her.

A/N#2: Sorry it's shorter then the first! Review please!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I think this is actually the part of the story that I thought up first, this basically inspired this whole story and turned it into what it is, and it also explains why Eugene became Flynn Rider. I hope you enjoy! And thank you so much for the review! Please review this story and give me any suggestions or share any comments you have.

Disclamer: I don't own "Tangled" or the characters, they belong to Disney.

* * *

Weeks passed and Eugene had finally got the hang of stealing. He would go up to the random carts on the street and grab everything he could, then run away as fast as his little legs could carry him. Sounds easy correct?

Over this time, Eugene looked healthier than ever despite being covered in dirt most of the time from sleeping on the ground. Eating more then he usually did was a luxury that was so new to him that he took advantage of it.

His companion was only the book he used to read to the children back at the orphanage, "The Tales Of Flynnigan Rider." Never being interested in it before, he soon realized how much Flynnigan could help him. He was smooth, and always knew what to say in any situation.

Eugene was usually a wimp, besides when he heroically decided to skip out on the life of an orphan, but that's pretty much where it ends. Growing up, he constantly was getting picked on and beat up because of how much skinnier and weak he was.

He craved to be more like the hero of his book and over time he gradually became more like the man in his book. A year had passed since his escape, only 9 years old he was an accomplished thief with a stash of money buried at the bottom of the satchel he had stolen from one of the local merchants stands.

Over that year he had also grown up in a physical sense, he was now 5'5" and for a nine year old that was unusual, but the boy was proud, he was going to be a tall man someday!  
Flynn Rider was now the name he told everyone when he was introduced, gone was little Eugene Fitzherbert.

* * *

Flynn Rider didn't care about anyone, but his mind was still filled with the little baby's eyes he had now seen over five years ago, the 13 year old sometimes couldn't sleep at night in fear he would see them in his dreams.

He knew it was the princess, there was no doubt in his mind it was her. They had a mural of the royal family in the town square and she was identical to the artist work. Flynn would never give up on finding that girl, he imagined the reward would be more then he could even imagine. But the thing was, the connection he had instantly felt with the baby was strange and he was sure it wasn't to be ignored.

Their destinys had to be entertwined somehow.

The cold air chilled him to the bone as he pulled the jacket closer to his body in a desperate attempt to warm himself up. Trudging through the snow, teeth chattering, the thief puffed smoke from his mouth into the bitter cold. Winter was always the worst time when you were homeless.

He had a job tonight though, he had seen a huge house sitting on top of a hill covered in snow during the daytime, Flynn was desperately trying to find it again to see what riches he could take from the people who lived there.

It was all so selfish but freezing and shivering the boy really couldn't care less.

A light appeared through the dense woods, thankfully the snow had quit falling when night fell so Flynn saw it right away and immediately quickened his pace. The snow crunched as his boots made oval indentions just revealing more snow pack underneath the first coat, already everyone could tell this was going to be a long winter.

Climbing up the hill leading to the house was going to be tricky, Flynn was absolutely exhausted and was ready to sleep for the night, but he needed to steal to survive.  
As quiet as can be the boy sneakily circled the house and was disappointed by the light on inside, maybe they would go to sleep soon?

Curiously he walked up to the window, snow from the trees surrounding the house falling into the boys dark brown hair and dusting his nose almost causing him to sneeze. His face was warmed by the light radiating from the indoors and he could tell it was thawing his very red nose.

The sight of maybe a rich women sitting and knitting absent mindedly in a chair while her husband drank wine and counted his money was what Eugene was expecting, but the site that met him made his blood go colder then it already was.

A brown haired little girl sat on the floor, fingers shaking as she scrub away the red stain on the tile. She was too skinny, and couldn't be more than 9 atleast. That wasn't what shocked him, it was the tears glistening in her big green eyes.

"Elizabeth?" Flynn whispered into the night air holding back the tears he felt were about to come at any moment. His sister was being treated like a servant.  
He arms shaking along with her little fingers she threw down the rag she was cleaning with and put her face in her hands. He could see the drops of salty tears running through the creases of her fingers.

"Elizabeth!" A man's voice yelled coming into the spacious room his shoes banging against the tile. Face red and grey hair spiked in all directions from running his fingers through it too many times. The dark suit and fine tailored clothes he wore proved he was the owner of the house.

Immediately the girl stood up and wiped her face, the rag in her hand dripping with soapy water from the bucket she had dipped it in. Now standing Flynn could see just how skinny his sister had gotten, at 9 she had to be only about 70 pounds and 5"1". The girl's cheek bones really stuck out now and the joy was completely gone from her emerald orbs.

Then fear struck again. What about Natalie? Was she ok? Did she also have to act as a servant? Flynn's mind jumped to every possible conclusion until he realized that a conversation was taking place right in front of him, through the window.

"Are the floors clean?" The man seathed looking around in disgust despite the nearly perfect tiling. The only imperfection was that red streak.  
Flynn then noticed what that was after seeing it so much after his countless injuries. Blood.

"Yes sir, I just have one more spot to clean," Elizabeth's voice was soft as she looked down at the ground where her barefeet were shifting nervously as if she was awaiting something.

"Well hurry up! This must be clean before my wife comes home tomorrow!" The man's face was so close to Elizabeth's and he was yelling directly at her, she didn't cringe though and stood strong.  
"Yes," Was all she said as she turned to go back to scrubbing quickly being pushed forward and falling hard onto the floor below her. She cried out in shock and in pain, Elizabeth's forhead and banged against the floor and Flynn could see there was a small trickle of blood already beginning to fall.

"You watch yourself, or your life could end just like your sister's did," He left stomping out of the room and down the hall where a door slammed hard. Elizabeth, now holding her head looked at the streak of blood on the floor and began to cry.

Natalie had died, well had been killed. Flynn couldn't believe what he just witnessed. His heart pounded and his body heated up with absolute anger at the man who had killed his little sister and abused his other one.

Inside Elizabeth got up slowly slightly dizzy and walked close to the window to blow out the candle. Flynn held his breath as he backed up against the cold wall hoping she wouldn't see him. The light disappeared and he could hear the sound of small feet climbing the wooden stairs.  
He knew what he had to do.

* * *

Scaling the wall of the home was easy, he had found a ladder lying on the ground and had used it to climb up to a window. Flynn just hoped it was the right one.  
Looking inside it was dark, but he could see a little girl curled up in a small bed, hand clutching at her head and silently crying. The scene alone made Flynn want to go beat that man to a bloody pulp.  
He set his numb fingers below the wooden window and tried to push it up, to gain access to the inside. The wood groaned a bit but Elizabeth never looked up. Finally he was able to slide the window open and jump inside closing it again.

By now Elizabeth was looking up terrified of who had just climbed through her window. About to scream a cold hand clamped quickly over her mouth.  
"Shhh Beth it's only me..." The soft reply came, immediately she knew who it was.

"Eugene?" The girl heard a slight laugh and cough.

"Uh...Yeah." That sarcastic reply was enough to convince her as she jumped up latching onto her brother for a hug, ignoring the dizziness that took hold of her.

"Eugene...It's terrible...home...Natalie...it was horrible!" She was blubbering as the boy simply held on tightly to her patting her back and whispering reassurances.

"I know, but right now I'm just worried about you..." Letting go of her briefly he walked through the door on the other side of the room and sure enough it was a powder room, a cleam cloth leaning against the sink. Wetting it with cold water, Flynn returned to the little girl who meekly sat on the edge of her bed clutching her head.

"Here...you fell pretty hard..." Looking greatfully up at him, Elizabeth pressed the cool cloth to her forehead muttering a thanks.

"You saw that huh?" Flynn nodded watching sadly as the girl's big green eyes filled with sadness. "Your lucky you wern't here yesterday...  
he was so mad and Natalie..." Elizabeth just sighed the tears still flowing.

"Shhh...I'm glad to...I just can't believe it," His sister nodded sadly as he took a seat next to her. "You can't keep living like this."

"What else am I suppose to do?" Flynn wanted to word his answer carefully.

"Come with me" She stared at him a second considering then sighing.

"Eugene...I wouldnt't-" She was cut off though by Flynn standing up and placing his large hands on her small skinny shoulders, looking right into her big eyes, hazel meeting green.

"Please, you'd be happier...don't you trust me?" Sighing Elizabeth held the cloth tighter against her head closing her eyes while slowly nodding. "Yes," The reply rang with all the sincerity she could muster up at the moment.

"Ok well start packing, were going on a trip!" He said with fake enthusiasm as she stood up, this time without a stumble and grabbed her bag from underneath her bed. "Oh and one more thing."

"Yeah?"

"It's Flynn now," the thief smirked as his sister rolled her big green eyes and shook her head laughing to herself. Already, she was becoming the Elizabeth he use to know.

She was his sister again, he wasn't alone.

* * *

A/N: Thoughts? It may be a little hard to follow...but if you have questions state them in your review please.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: So thanks for the review:) They are greatly appreciated! This chapter has a bit of Rapunzel and Eugene with a flashback.

Disclaimer: I don't own "Tangled" or the characters they are Disney.

"Eugene?" Rapunzel asked her boyfriend from the couch where she was sitting watching him lazily flip through the pages of a random book that came from the shelf behind him.

"Yeah Blondie?" The brunette smiled and rolled her eyes before patting the seat next to her, he gladly went and sat beside her placing his arm over her thin shoulders.

The princess played with a lock of her hair, nervous to ask what she had originally been wanting to know."Well...you know how you told me about you and your sister running off?"

Eugene looked at her surprised, he had told Rapnzel that month's ago, why was she bringing it up now? "Yeah..." He trailed off wanting to know where the girl was going with this question of her's.

"What happened to her?" Rapunzel asked hesitantly, her green eyes looking through her lashes up at the ex-thief sitting beside her.

Running his fingers through his hair, Eugene let out a long sigh then glanced at her sideways. "I guess I have to tell you...because if I don't I'm pretty sure my head will become familiar with the frying pan again."

Giggling she placed one of her small hands on his warm cheek and told him lovingly, "You know I would never do that to you..."  
Eugene laughed a bit but became serious once he began his tale.

"Well...it's kinda a sad story...brace yourself blondie..."

* * *

"Elizabeth!" Flynn looking around the campsite he had just made for the night, he hadn't seen his sister for an hour and she was just going to get firewood.

Flynn was now 18, he had grown up to be a tall man standing about 6'4" while his petite little sister was only about 5'3" and 14.

Both had been through a lot over the years, living on the streets or at the camps they stationed, and having to steal for a living.

Elizabeth had never stolen a thing, she claimed that if she did she just couldn't live with herself even though she would eat the things Flynn collected. "I'm here!" A feminine voice shouted behind him lightly stepping out of the forest and into the open where the fire was radiating a red glow, against the dark night. He could see her white teeth shining as she set the the wood in her arms down on top of it clapping her hands together.

"Where have you been?" Flynn asked nonchalantly trying to act like he really could careless, I mean he was Flynn Rider.

Elizabeth looked at him strangely then shrugged her shoulders, "Collecting firewood...duh," the smug look on her face replaced the previous one.

"You didn't steal it did you?" Her brother asked tauntingly choosing to ignore the strange look she had displayed when asked about the firewood.

Snorting the girl merely plucked a piece of grass from the ground below her and threw it into the fire, "Keep dreaming Rider."

The full moon shined above their heads casting eerie shadows across the site, the fire crackling and popping, but both runaways staying silent.

The last few years had been hard on both, Elizabeth because she didn't have the heart to steal or the stealth and Flynn because he didn't want to do anything but break the rules. Ever since he was younger everyone was always telling him what to do but out here in the open.

"I fell earlier..." Elizabeth whispered almost more to herself then at her brother, but still Flynn heard loud and clear.

Sympathetically, Flynn walked over to the girl and sat down on the grass beside her tucking his legs up to his chest while she just absentmindedly grabbed the grass around her and threw it in the fire.

"It's ok Beth, I know you still have trouble with your knee." Turns out Elizabeth had received a pretty bad knee injury that had never been treated back when she was still at her adopted guardian's home. They had waved it off like it was nothing and continued to make her work. But she was still having long term difficulties with it, she tripped every now and then, and fell occasionally because the joints gave out, but usually Flynn was there to catch her when she fell.

"I know, but it just makes me angry! Im not capable of anything!" Tears began to fall from her eyes as she became more angry at herself. Her brother turned away good naturedly, he couldn't stand crying.

"Hey now! You know I don't like crying!" He heard a slight giggle and then she froze and her ears perked up. Flynn also became silent and heard what she heard.

A song drifted through the trees on a cool breeze that made the fire flicker, words were being softly sung and a melody was being hummed, it was quite eerie yet beautiful nontheless.  
Flynn Rider stood up and looked around, same with his sister. Neither of them saw anyone even close to their camp.

"What is that?" Elizabeth asked quietly as the song continued to travel on the slight breeze, not saying a word Flynn walked over to a break in the forest and began making his way through the dense woods with Elizabeth trailing closely behind.

Their footsteps were quiet and there breath was coming out in whispers. Both had their eyes trailed straight ahead where the noise was coming from.

Coming to a break in the forest both stepped out cautiously and listened to see if they could hear the song anymore. The voice had stopped but they knew whoever was the owner of the voice was close.

Both curiously looked over at a set of boulders where a curtain of vines fell enclosing the entrance of a cave. The brother and sister looked at each other curiously then back at the vines, Flynn stepped forward but was stopped short.

"What are you doing?" A womans voice screeched from behind them, both turned and saw a women with slightly grey tinged black hair and a red medievel dress on, she looked to be about 50 or so.  
Her grey eyes were filled with an anger beyond belief and both felt their blood run cold.

Flynn had taken off running immediatly always choosing flight over fight, his adreneline was pumping and his heart was racing, he thought he heard footsteps behind him but didn't look back to make sure Elizabeth was following, she was a smart girl and would definately be back there.

He would have kept running except there was a silence surrounding him, no footsteps, no labored breaths of exhaustion, just nothing.

Panic set in as he rested his hand against a tree and realized that his sister was not behind him, she hadn't been for awhile now.

Once he regained his strength the thief retraced his exact path, the sun was rising and a dull glow was set around him, giving the forest a pinkish color.  
His worst nightmare greeted him as he stumbled over something and falling face down on the damp ground. Yanking himself up he went to kick whatever he had tripped over but stopped cold.

In front oh him lay a girl face flat on the ground arms by her sides, her dark brown hair was messy and tangled with leaves and small branches from the trees, blood poured from a wound in her side.

"No...No!" He cried out falling to his knees beside his little sister and gently turning her over, the girl's skin was pale white and cold. Flynn desperately checked for a heartbeat but couldn't even hear a faint beat.

Just silence.

The tears came, and for once Flynn Rider didn't want to keep them in. He had lost his little sister and once he saw why he began to cry even harder. Elizabeth's knee was bent in a strange way, it appears to had given out some point when she was running, and that woman had decided to stab her.

What was she hiding? Something so secret that she would kill over it? Then it hit him like a ton of bricks, the woman, she stole the lost princess! The baby with the big green eyes!  
But for once he couldn't care less, Flynn would get his revenge on her sooner or later, and rescue the princess.

For now, he just sat on the damp ground and cried over the death over his sister.

She had fallen, and he hadn't been there to catch her.

* * *

When he finished, Eugene was immediately pulled into a hug as a tear escaped his eye. When he realized that he wasn't the only one crying though he gave a weak smile and wrapped his arms around the now found princess.

A/N: Thoughts? Please Review.


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